Remembering Sunday
by A Jedi and Her Kitten
Summary: It had been six nights of being completely wasted; six empty cases of firewhiskey; six mornings spent disgorging the alcohol from his system; six missing hangover potions and six days since she'd been gone. SSHG Rated M for Mature situations.
1. Remembering Sunday

_ She_ was there: it had to be her with those honey-colored eyes and that curly, wild hair.

Severus Snape sat up in his bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as his heart raced from the clarity of his dream. In some corner of his mind, he dully wondered what time it was. He groped about the bedside for his wand, only to discover that it had rolled off of the nightstand and onto the floor beside the bed.

_ "Tempus," _ he muttered, his voice deceptively void of emotion and sleep.

2 am. He blinked wearily, then rubbed his eyes once more as he charmed his clothing free of vomit and felt about for his shoes.

Ignoring the scent of firewhiskey and muggle rum on his breath, he forced them onto his feet then sluggishly left his chambers to wander about the grounds, despite the pouring rain.

He soon found himself standing at the edge of the lake, high up on a cliff where braver, older students and trembling, accosted first-years dove into the lake during the school term.

The memories flooded back harshly, feeling as though the Hogwarts lake had decided to rush wildly into his head, giant squid flailing its tentacles against his skull in protest while angry Merpeople jabbed and prodded his brain with their tridents. Laughter chimed like bells inside his head as she laughed at the squid's antics in his mind's eye.

Never before had Severus felt so much pain, even when held under four _crucios_ at once. His legs buckled and he winced as his knees slammed into the rocky embankment that was slick from the downpour. Each raindrop felt like a knife being shoved through his back and into his heart.

_ Sunday._

How many days had it been, exactly?

Oh, yes, six – after all, tomorrow would be one week exactly. Snape drunkenly surmised that was the only reason he knew how long it had been. He was lying to himself. He knew because it had been six nights of being completely wasted; six empty cases of firewhiskey and six empty fifths of English Harbour; six mornings spent disgorging poisonous alcohol from his body and six hangover potions missing from his private stores.

It had been six days since that dreadful moment, since he watched her smile and laugh and tug on his arm for the last time; six days since he had held her; six days since they had shared breakfast in his quarters; six days since he had kissed her; and six days since he had lost his Hermione.

Sometime later he would find himself wondering how he had managed to get off of the cliff without falling into the rocky abyss below. Despite the urge to jump into the raging waters, Severus found himself on the staircase to the Astronomy Tower. He cringed as the memories continued to swirl inside his head, not unlike the storm outside.

"Come with me, Sev," she had said with a sultry voice, half teasing, half begging, then grabbed his hand to lead him up the steps where he had caught many a couple snogging after curfew in years past, yet in that moment, the only couple he had found himself able to concentrate on was them: him and his Hermione. That was the night when she first told him she felt something for him. Severus had used Legilimency to test her honesty, thinking that it was a cruel prank, but was surprised to find her feelings genuine; however, he was even more surprised to find she was a strong Occlumens, herself. In the back of his mind, he wondered why, but ignored the alarms and dismissed it as irrelevant. He wanted nothing more than to know what was behind her walls, yet she wouldn't let him in. He had respected her boundaries at the time. Now, he almost wished he hadn't.

That night was the first night they had made love, one year ago from Sunday.

He tore himself away from the Tower and the urge to dive off of it – after all, he knew it wouldn't work, he had tried the day after she disappeared from his life: who would have guess that the wards preventing student suicides would work for their professors as well? – then made his through the castle once more, jostling the portraits from their slumber and harassing ghosts, determined to yield new results from yet another drunken interrogation.

He stopped in front of a portait of Jane Austen, guardian of what was once Hermione's quarters.

"Jane," he muttered, then rose his voice when she didn't respond. "_Jane. _JANE!" The woman shook in fright from her aggressive, unscheduled wake-up call.

"Yes, Severus? What on _Earth_ could you possibly want at this hour?" she asked indignantly.

"Forgive me, Jane. Have you heard from her?" It was unnecessary to specify of whom he was speaking. Her expression softened and the authoress shook her head.

"No, Severus, I promise you will be the first person to know, if I do." He grimaced.

"Are you sure you didn't see her when she left?" he sounded desperate. The elderly woman pitied him and shook her head once more.

"I'm sorry, Professor Snape," she braced herself for the intoxicated speech she had received every night for the past five days, thus she was surprised to only get a brief apology.

"My apologies for bothering you, Madame Austin." As he walked away, she noticed him fingering a small, square box in his pocket whilst muttering under his breath and rubbing his forehead with his other hand.

As he continued to amble throughout the castle, empty of students during the summer holiday, the memories continued to churn inside his head. It never occured to him to use a Pensive.

_"You lie! Where is she?" _He had screamed when they told him she was no where to be found. _"Find her, damn you!" _he had demanded.

Searching had been futile, though, for Hermione Jane Granger had no desire to be found.

At 4 a.m., he had Floo called Harry Potter, his mind still spinning from memories of her, preventing him from sleep. Harry had grudgingly invited him over, then listened with slight satisfaction as his most hated professor begged him for the whereabouts of his best friend. All Severus received in return for his groveling was a cup of tea, a shot of whiskey and a Calming Draught.

Later that day, after a Hangover Remedy and some Muggle Aspirin, he found himself at the Burrow, confiding in Arthur Weasley. "Arthur," he said, "I believe she's driven me bonkers. She's haunting me. Every time I close my eyes, she's there." Arthur shook his head in disbelieving amazement, but remained silent.

"I was going to propose that afternoon. It would have been one year that evening. Why wasn't she there that evening?" Knowing Arthur couldn't provide any answer he hadn't came up with himself, Severus Snape thanked the man for sharing his brandy, then walked out the kitchen door to Apparate back to Hogwarts.

She had told him once at the beginning of their relationship that she would never marry because men were too unstable, and love wasn't something that could be proven from a book. He was determined to prove her wrong, because it was all over the books. He had thrown a book for the first time that day – in fact, he found that he had thrown several before it was all over: Shakespeare, Brontë, Austin; all brutally tossed onto the table before the brightest witch in a century.

He cornered her after that and asked how she felt about him, if she experienced stomach-churning nausea or ten thousand butterflies pumping their wings as fast as possible inside her gut like he did. She had grudgingly admitted it, "Yes, but I –" he cut her off with a passionate kiss. Taking advantage of her shocked expression, he had triumphantly whispered into her ear, "That's love, Hermione."

He found himself wondering if that was why she was gone. Perhaps he had terrified her that day, and she had left instead of getting ready for dinner that night because of it, despite the conversation taking place months and months ago. He couldn't fathom how the brightest witch of the age didn't believe in love, especially after Lily Potter's sacrifice for her son. She was Harry's best friend, for Merlin's sake! Why didn't she believe in love?

That evening, Severus was seen in her old neighborhood, pulled from the Hogwarts Archives, banging on doors without any particular pattern. A small part of him expected, no, _hoped_ that he would run across a Potter here or a Weasley there who could point him in the right direction. The problem was that he was rather intimidating and absolutely no one recognized the crazed man in his strange clothing as a high-standing member of society, Muggle or otherwise.

Eventually, he stumbled across the home of Abagail Mason who was kind enough to tell him that Hermione had once lived in that neighborhood: She would know, for she had watched the Granger girl before she was old enough to stay home by herself. Severus begged the old woman to help him, but Abby could only say that Hermione had been gone since age eleven and she'd barely seen her since. The lady was kind enough to mention that before she had went to a boarding school in Scotland, Hermione had enjoyed her family's property in the French countryside. She offered the address of the Granger's old summer house, then sent him along.

He discovered himself on the doorstep of the summerhouse some minutes later. He banged on the door while frantically whispering her name under his breath, only to meet what had to be Hermione's mother: she looked like an older, blonder version of her daughter. They had never heard of the dour professor and they didn't believe that she was missing. They were absolutely no help. He discretely used Legilimency, only to find that they truly had never heard of Severus Snape and they did not know where she was if she wasn't in Scotland like they believed her to be.

He left, dejected, to sit on a bench by the road, once again ignorant of the constant downpour. He couldn't decide whether or not he wanted her parents to know his story, his story and their only daughter's story and how they were entwined. He was unable to fathom which hurt more, the thought of her sharing something so private with everyone or the reality that she hadn't spoken up at all about her lover.

His hand fell back into his pocket, yet again caressing the ring box that held his would-be engagement ring. Something made him pull the box from his pocket and examine it once more. The top of the velvet box was beginning to look worn and faded from his ministrations. He cracked open the lid and saw the one family heirloom he could bring himself to be proud of still sat comfortably inside the box: his mother's ring. A platinum band was lined in small, bead diamonds that trimmed around one large, eye-catching round center stone. It was perhaps the only thing of any value that his father had ever presented to his long-dead mother.

"It's lovely, you know?" Severus was surprised to be jostled from his reviere. Hermione's mother had been curiously watching the younger man inspect the ring from her living room window. She realized that this was the man Hermione had mentioned some ages ago, though she'd never bothered to offer a name. She didn't know him, but she knew exactly how much Severus loved her daughter from the dangerous, wild look in his eye. She had rushed out to talk to him once more about Hermione. She took a seat beside him on the bench, daintily holding her umbrella.

"Do you think she would like it?" he asked, his voice rougher than he had guessed it would be. The older woman considered it carefully, then accepted it when he offered her the ring.

"I believe she might. It's exquisite," she offered the ring back to him. He took to opportunity to beg her to pass on a message if she heard from her daughter, and to contact him at the first chance if at all possible, because it'd been six days, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could take it. The woman said little, but agreed to contact him and carefully offered the last tidbit she remembered hearing from Hermione.

"She never spoke of the Magical world, you know? She said that she didn't want us to be involved in it. I missed a large part of her life because of it," the woman said remorsefully. Severus understood Hermione's logic, but it still pained him to see the hurt look on her mother's face. He said nothing and they sat silently for a few moments, Mrs. Granger wondering where she went wrong, Snape simply listening to the rain hit the pavement and the rumble of thunder in the distance. Her mother broke the suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.

"Professor, I seem to recall her mentioning someone named Ronald. She never really brought her friends home, but she did talk of them often. Ronald and Harold, I believe – No! Harry! Ron and Harry. You might check with them about Hermione's whereabouts?" she said, the bid the man good day and left him, once again, staring at the ring in it's little velvet prison.

It was then that he began hunting out Ronald Weasley. He found him, alright, but Ron slammed the door in his face as soon as he saw who had came knocking and refused to answer. He had the niggling sensation that either Ron was hiding Hermione, which was unlikely given the obvious connections, or that Ronald Weasley blamed him for Hermione's disappearance.

Disappointed once more, he tried Harry Potter again, but Harry couldn't offer anything other than the same story he'd provided some hours before. He never mentioned Snape's inebriated Floo-call at four in the morning. He simply offered to do a drying charm, and then sent the man on his way back to Hogwarts via the Floo. Snape dimly wondered if the rain was mocking him in his dark mood and somewhat stormy disposition. It had rained _that_ day, Sunday as well.

He remembered that night vividly:

He had left his quarters in a hurry to escort his lover to dinner, his mother's ring nestled comfortably in his trousers' pocket against his thigh. Whispering the password to Jane, he had nearly dived into the doorway in his anxiety to see Hermione. His anxiousness grew as he had made his way through the suite yet Hermione was no where to be found.

Sitting sadly on her side of the bed, he discovered an envelope on the nightstand addressed to him. He put his head in his hands and sobbed, the anticipation too much for the aging man as his gut told him this was goodbye. Finally, he picked the letter and tore the envelope open, heartbroken to see her typically neat, cramped writing transformed into a horribly rushed mess.

_ Darling Severus,_

_ I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I've gone. I'm not going to return. I've done the unforgiveable and I can't ask you to forgive me for it. I couldn't tell you, I couldn't make myself tell you. I think I am actually in love with you, and I'm so confused. You wouldn't have ever guessed that there was something I couldn't say, would you? You've been haunting me for the past year. I can't get you out of my mind, but maybe I can wash you away with the rain. I will have to settle for watching you from afar. I can't bear to be close to you again. You'll never forgive me. I'm sure we'll meet again someday._

_Love, Hermione._

Her letter was smudged with ink that had been hastily sprayed across the page and her drying tears had turned several of the small spatters into large puddles. He hadn't known what to say to her missive, so he crumpled it up and tossed the small ball across the room. After Summoning the note back to his hand, he ran out the door to Jane.

"Jane! Where is she?" he begged, "Why didn't you tell me she wasn't in there?" The lady gave him a very puzzled look.

"Severus, she _is_ in her quarters, is she not?" At his stricken look and trembling hands, she surmised that she was most certainly not in her quarters. Casting a fast Smoothing Charm, he offered Madame Austin the letter. "Oh dear, we need to go find Dumbledore."

That evening in the Headmaster's office, he had sat with Minerva on one side and Albus on the other, both attempting to soothe the grieving Potions Master. He had spent himself, yelling and cussing while threatening to curse every last thing that moved if they couldn't find her, thus he was resigned to Albus' Calming Draught-laced lemon drops and grudgingly accepted when the old man offered. When Potter returned to tell him that there wasn't any sign of her, he had lost it. That was the first night since the end of the reign of the Dark Lord that he had gotten so inebriated he barely remembered his name. Her face still haunted him, though.

He snapped back to the present and realized he was still sitting under a broken streetlight on a lonely bench in Southern France. He clutched his mother's engagement ring tighter still, then dried and repaired the damage to the little box. He gave one last look at the Granger residence, then Apparated away to Spinner's End. He would find her eventually.

* * *

_Remembering Sunday by All Time Low_

_He woke up from dreaming and put on his shoes  
Started making his way past 2 in the morning  
He hasn't been sober for days_

_Leaning now into the breeze  
Remembering Sunday, he falls to his knees  
They had breakfast together  
But two eggs don't last  
Like the feeling of what he needs_

_Now this place seems familiar to him  
She pulled on his hand with a devilish grin  
She led him upstairs, she led him upstairs  
Left him dying to get in_

_Forgive me, I'm trying to find  
My calling, I'm calling at night  
I don't mean to be a bother,  
But have you seen this girl?  
She's been running through my dreams  
And it's driving me crazy, it seems_

_I'm going to ask her to marry me_

_Even though she doesn't believe in love,  
He's determined to call her bluff  
Who could deny these butterflies?  
They're filling his gut_

_Waking the neighbors, unfamiliar faces  
He pleads though he tries  
But he's only denied  
Now he's dying to get inside_

_Forgive me, I'm trying to find  
My calling, I'm calling at night  
I don't mean to be a bother,  
But have you seen this girl?  
She's been running through my dreams  
And it's driving me crazy, it seems  
I'm going to ask her to marry me_

_The neighbors said she moved away  
Funny how it rained all day  
I didn't think much of it then  
But it's starting to all make sense  
Oh, I can see now that all of these clouds  
Are following me in my desperate endeavor  
To find my whoever, wherever she may be_

_I'm not coming back (forgive me)  
I've done something so terrible  
I'm terrified to speak (I'm not calling, I'm not calling)  
But you'd expect that from me  
I'm mixed up, I'll be blunt, now the rain is just (You're driving me crazy, I'm)  
Washing you out of my hair and out of my mind  
Keeping an eye on the world,  
From so many thousands of feet off the ground, I'm over you now  
I'm at home in the clouds, and towering over your head_

_Well I guess I'll go home now...  
I guess I'll go home now...  
I guess I'll go home now...  
I guess I'll go home_

* * *

_**Disclaimer:**_ _If you recognize it, it's most likely not mine. This story is based off of All Time Low's "Remembering Sunday" ft. Juliet Simms. Harry Potter is the property of J. K. Rowling._

* * *

_**Author's Note: **So what did you think? This was an angsty little blurb written at two in the morning one night when I'm quite positive I was crying, although I was the Hermione in the situation. If you're interested, I might write a follow up to give it a happy ending now that I'm feeling better. I promise, Impending Disaster will be updated in the next week. Until then, go with Godspeed. - Rei_

_**Author's Annotation: 10.25.10 at 5 p.m. **I'm going to add two more parts to make this a happy ending since all of you are asking so nicely, then maybe a prologue. I'm going to post them either tonight or in the morning. I'll even give you a hint. There are two songs by two different artists that share a somewhat common theme. The artists are All American Rejects and Jet Black Stare. Until then, sayonara. - Rei_


	2. Night Drive

_Sunday Evening_

As the last traces of London disappeared from her rear view mirror, Hermione Granger began to wonder if she'd ever really escape England. She wasn't sure where she was going, but she was on her way to Paris, currently sitting impatiently in her car for the 35 minute ride to France to be over. She began to think about the situation she had left and realized just how well she knew Severus. She certainly knew him well enough to be heartbroken. She wondered if London would feel the same way about her leaving. Perhaps, perhaps not.

She'd Floo'ed from her quarters in her fancy dinner garb, a last minute decision she'd made as she realized she had fatally screwed up by falling in love with Severus. He was under her surveillance, she wasn't allowed to fall for him! She mentally cursed herself, _dammit, Hermione, you're a better Auror than that. _

It was to be that she had taken a sabbatical after her last bad injury (which really wasn't that serious, she's a bloody witch after all) and took Albus up on the offer of teaching Arithmacy and filling in whenever any of the other teachers had to be out (except, of course, Divination. If Trelawney and Firenze were both... incapacitated... the class was simply canceled.)

The reality of her assignment was that Severus Snape was being secretly monitored as rumors of illegal potions were being circulated at the same time the threat of another megalomaniac on the rise had sprung up. It wasn't because he was a known former Death Eater, not at all, although Hermione felt it certainly didn't aid his case. No, he was under investigation just like every other Potions Master in Europe.

She mused that she could at least report to her superiors that he was, without a doubt in her mind, completely innocent of providing illegal potions to unsavory peoples.

That evening, when she had realized that Snape had proved her wrong, that love did exist outside of fairy tales, she stumbled out into the streets from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes after eliciting a very strong vow from the twins that if asked, they had not seen her. From the alley beside the shop, she Apparated to the nearest rent-a-car place which was owned by muggleborns and rented herself a nondescript, forgettable car.

She had driven until she reached the Chunnel, hoping to escape while leaving her entire life behind her. With one last glimpse of England, she realized that for once in her life, she had no plan. She would have to find a way to get word to her superiors that Severus was innocent, but she would also have to explain why without breaking her heart a little more than it already was.

Each mile from England, another piece of her slid away: one less obligation, one less person, one less feeling, one less memory. With each kilometer, she felt a little more detached. Some how, halfway through the Chunnel, she convinced herself that even if he had begged her, she wouldn't have stayed, and certainly, she wouldn't have married him.

Oh, yes, she knew he would propose. She had found the ring earlier that week while he was asleep. She had been investigating his quarters after a wonderful night of sex and liquor. Then when he had invited her to a fancy dinner for their one year anniversary, she put two and two together and spent the week trying to decide how to react. When she found that she actually wanted to go through with it, she became terrified and she ran. When she couldn't run any farther, she drove.

As soon as she hit land, she sped her way towards Paris. She drove through Paris, ignoring all of the vibrant lights and people, then continued to accelerate south until she hit Orleans. She thanked her parents under her breath as she drove farther and farther away from Hogwarts and Severus Snape. She originally decided to make for Noirmoutier to her family's property on the southwestern beach, but decided that would be one of the first places anyone came looking for her, so she decided to leave France altogether.

She knew if Severus ever found her, all manner of hell would break loose. They would fight about her leaving, and then one or the other of them would say something insensitive and cruel and then they'd be hurt. Right now, she blamed Severus for ruining her life, even though rationally, she knew that it wasn't his fault she hadn't wanted to fall in love, nor did he decided to make her love him. At the moment, though, Hermione found it convenient to blame Snape.

She gathered her resolve and kept driving, all the while thanking Merlin for the magically replenishing fuel tank. She made a pit stop in Lyon to grab food – she never made it to dinner, after all – and then continued on until she reached the Italian border. Realizing that she hadn't paid any tolls in France, she cast a revealing spell on the car to find that it had automatically avoided the toll roads. She also discovered that it had an invisibility charm on it that began working the minute she broke the speed limit, thus she could really drive as fast as she wanted.

She stopped at customs so as to be legally in the country, then sped her way into Torino. She looked up to see that it was already three in the morning, and if she kept driving, she would drive straight into the breaking dawn. She drove.

She was gone, gone from Scotland, gone from Hogwarts, gone from Severus Snape. Surely he wouldn't be too heartbroken. He had Albus and Minerva to console him. As Torino disappeared behind her, she felt another piece of her slip away. She promised herself that she wouldn't go back, not until she'd been forgotten.

It would be a long time before she could go back. She kept driving.

She reached Venice sometime before seven. In the back of her mind, she was wondering exactly how fast she had been driving. She decided it was still too early to quit because the events of the night were still bright in her mind. She stopped long enough to grab breakfast then headed towards Pisa. She drove past the Leaning Tower while musing that it was bending over backwards like she once did.

At least she didn't have to worry about her job. She would be fired – after all, you weren't supposed to fall for your assignment. As for Hogwarts, she felt it was rather obvious she quit.

She kept going, eventually hitting Rome about half ten London time. She knew that Severus wouldn't think to look for her in Italy, but she still didn't want to chance it by staying somewhere obvious. She remembered mentions of a magical community near Sicily. She kept driving, all the while cursing Snape under her breath.

Stopping in Naples, she got directions using a translation spell to make her way to Calabria, a magical community from a Muggleborn owned apothecary that was Muggle in the front and Magical in the back. She got back into her car and made her way south. As she drove, she began to think over the life she left behind once more.

Every time she came up with a halfway decent argument that love didn't exist, Severus blocked her off. Every time he proved her wrong, her head spun a little more and her heart beat a little harder. She was falling in love, but she didn't dare say it. It was easier to run away from it than to face it. She drove to escape it.

At eight o'clock, she was welcomed into the Italian community with open arms. They recognized her from the press releases of Voldemort's defeat and acknowledged her talent as a brilliant witch.

She insisted on paying an innkeeper for a room, despite many offers to stay for free, then dug out her old Sneakascope from her bag. She charmed it to alert her if anyone came looking for her, then fell into bed at about midnight, too tired to cry.

The next day, the reality of what she had done finally hit her when she received a letter from Minerva. She directed what she recognized as a Hogwarts owl to her barely touched lunch then over to the perch above the wardrobe.

_Dearest Hermione,_

_ Where have you gone? The letter you left indicated that you'd done the unforgivable, but child, nothing is unforgivable. We're all miserable without you here. Severus is terribly distraught. Please, Hermione, tell me where you went if you won't come back, or at least tell me why you left. Everyone is looking for you. Please come home, Hermione. _

_ Sincerely, Minnie McGonagall _

It was Tuesday. She'd driven to escape everything, yet it all managed to catch up with her. Hermione finally gathered the will to cry. She cried for her family and for her friends, for her job and for Hogwarts; she cried for the Burrow and for Godric's Hollow; for London and for Hogsmeade.

She bawled when she realized that she would probably never see her friends and mentors again; Harry, Ron, Ginny and the twins were all back in Scotland. Minerva and Albus, her closest confidantes and mentors were at Hogwarts. Severus, the one person she had ever truly loved was probably devastated back in the Snape Mansion that she had spent this summer helping him rebuild, or perhaps he was wrecking Spinner's End in a fit of rage at her betrayal. Maybe he was drunk in his quarter right now. She would never know, because she resolved to never speak to him again.

Finally, she resolved that she would get through this. She told herself to grow a backbone and move on. She clutched Minerva's missive in her hand tightly as Hedwig flew through the window.

"Oh, Hedwig! Why on Earth did they send you to find me? You're so tired! Thank Merlin you made it here alright," the snowy owl hooted as Hermione stroked her feathers then offered out her leg. On a whim, Hermione cast a revealing spell on both of the letters tied to Hedwig's leg as well as the letter clutched in her hand. She found that all three were spelled so that only she may read them, but none of them had a tracking charm.

Sighing in relief, Hermione removed the letters and offered Hedwig the leftovers from her lunch.

"Here, old girl, help yourself. There's a perch above the wardrobe." The owl hooted merrily then ate until she was full. Hermione watched as Hedwig lethargically made her way over to the perch, joining the other owl to doze off.

The first letter was quick and to the point.

_Hermione, _

_ Where are you? Everyone's worried. Please let us know you're alright. We miss you. _

_ Love, Harry and Ginny Potter_

She grimaced but decided to read the second letter nonetheless.

_Hermione, _

_ Did that greasy git hurt you or did you finally get smart and decide you were better than that? Come home. We miss you. _

_ Love, Ron_

She knew he was concerned for her, but she couldn't help but get mad at him. He knew that Severus was cleared of all charges and in general a much nicer person after the war. It irked her to see that he still held that grudge after so many years.

She found that she didn't have the will to respond to any of it, so she let the owls rest and told them to stay for a while. She got into her car after alerting the innkeeper that she was going out for a bit, and drove all night long. She didn't return until morning.

She felt into a pattern. She would feed the owls, have a quiet dinner, and then leave the inn to go drive around Italy. She would drive all night long to wherever she felt like going, then return in the morning and fall into bed, too exhausted to do anything else. The next day she'd wake up, take a shower and repeat the process again.

Finally, Saturday came. She had lost weight during the week and gained deep circles below her eyes. She took the time to scribble out replies to all three, saying that she was fine and that she'd return eventually, but she had monumentally screwed up and she had to let everything cool down, but please don't try to find her at the moment. Before she could send the owls back with her replies, she was startled by the appearance of Fawkes and a small grey tabby. The tabby jumped from the phoenix's grip and transformed into Hermione's closest friend.

"Hermione! We've been so worried about you!" she chided, grabbing the girl and pulling her into a tight hug. "Where are we?" she asked after taking in her surroundings, correctly surmising that they were somewhere in Italy due to the large amounts of Italian in the room. She looked back at the young woman in her arms to see that she was rather shell-shocked. She held her at arm's length and inspected her, much like a lioness looking over her cub.

"Hermione Jane Granger, what in Merlin's name have you done to yourself? In less than a week, you've dropped a half a stone! You look like you haven't slept in days," she stopped scolding as Hermione's eyes brimmed with tears. Minerva's expression softened. "Oh, Hermione, why didn't you come to me? I feel like I've failed you."

At this, Hermione burst into tears and Minerva pulled her close once more. They held each other and cried as one blamed herself for going and the other for coming. Finally, after many tears, Hermione poured a pot of tea and the two women sat down to talk.

"Minerva, this isn't your fault at all. I've done something terrible and I couldn't bring myself to stay," at Minerva's confused look, she continued. "I never retired from being an Auror. While working at Hogwarts, I was on an assignment to observe Severus and make sure he's not the one that's been providing Dark potions to the community."

"But Hermione, Severus –" Hermione cut her off.

"I knew it was highly unlikely that Severus would be the one, but every Potions Master in Europe is under surveillance. His past certainly didn't help his case. Anyway, during this assignment, I became much closer to Severus than originally planned and I..." she hesitated. Minerva looked at her knowingly.

"You fell in love with your job, didn't you?" Minerva finished. She watched as Hermione closed her eyes and slowly nodded. "Oh, child, I knew there had to be more to the story."

"There was. Severus will never forgive me for being dishonest. He won't believe that it was real. He won't believe I really love him!" she cried. The older woman took her hand gently.

"Hermione, he loves you either way. He was going to propose to you Sunday night." She was baffled when Hermione didn't show surprise, her features favoring sadness instead.

"I know. I came across the ring while investigating," she said. "I couldn't have said yes, even if I wanted to. My job..." she trailed off. Minerva looked at her sadly.

"Child, you should have seen the man this week. He's miserable. He's been drunk ever since Potter told him he couldn't find you. He's roamed the castle every night, harassing the portraits and yelling at the ghosts, always interrogating them to find out if they've seen you. I believe that tonight is the first night he hasn't been in his quarters getting completely wasted.

He went to look for you this afternoon. He tried your parents in Southern France. Your mother is worried about you. She didn't know you had left until he told her. We're all worried about you," she paused. "By the look of you, we have due cause to be, anyway. Really, woman, have you forgotten to eat?"

At Hermione's guilty look, she clucked her tongue in annoyance pulled her off the edge of the bed. "Which part of Italy are we in?" she asked.

"Calabria, in –" Minerva cut her off.

"The _streghe_, am I correct?" she asked. At Hermione's nod, she continued. "Oh, wonderful, I know a delightful restaurant nearby." She spelled a new set of clothing onto Hermione and pulled her out of the room.

Later, over coffee, Minerva asked when she planned on returning.

"Perhaps in a while. I need some time to think and figure out how to resolve all of this with Severus. Besides, I like Italy." Minerva nodded.

"I understand. It does have a certain charm, doesn't it?"

The two women chatted late into the evening until Minerva looked at the time.

"Oh dear, it's already half ten. I suppose I should go back to Hogwarts and pass on the news that you're alive." Hermione looked stricken at these words.

"No! You mustn't tell Severus that you've seen me! I can't..." she broke down once more. Minerva calmed her down, then promised not to tell Severus. She called the owls to her and took the letters off of the desk that Hermione had been about to send when she had arrived.

"Now Hermione, when I leave, promise me you'll go to sleep." Hermione promised and Minerva left, holding onto Fawkes tightly while grinning secretly to herself that she had laced Hermione's coffee with a Dreamless Sleep potion.

Hermione decided that she felt quite tired. She changed into her pajamas and fell into a fitful sleep.

* * *

_Night Drive by All American Rejects_

_I know you _  
_so better than the city in the rear view _  
_I drive to _  
_eliminate the ball that I'm chained to _

_Take me break me _  
_every mile further there's a part of me that slips away _  
_One day you'll see _  
_Even if you go down on your knees you couldn't make me stay _

_Drive all night _  
_Never gonna get me _  
_Night by night _  
_To get away from it all _  
_You fight fight fight _  
_All you wanna do is hurt me _  
_You wrecked my life _  
_Now I'm gonna have to drive all night _

_I'll stay strong _  
_I'm pushing on the pedal til' I break dawn _  
_So I'm gone, go find another shoulder you can cry on _

_Take me break me _  
_Every mile further there's a part of me that slips away _  
_One day you'll see _  
_Even if you got down on your knees you couldn't make me stay _

_Drive all night _  
_Never gonna get me _  
_Night by night _  
_To get away from it all _  
_Fight fight fight _  
_All you wanna do is hurt me _  
_You wrecked my life _  
_So I'm gonna have to drive all night _  
_You wrecked my life _  
_So I'm gonna have to drive all night _  
_You wrecked my life _  
_So I'm gonna have to drive all night _

_All of the things that you knew that I'd try _  
_All of the things that I held inside _  
_All I gotta do is drive _

_Drive all night _  
_Never gonna get me _  
_Night by night _  
_To get away from it all _  
_Fight fight fight _  
_All you wanna do is hurt me _  
_You wrecked my life _  
_So I'm gonna have to drive all night _  
_You wrecked my life _  
_So I'm gonna have to drive all night _  
_You wrecked my life _  
_So I'm gonna have to drive all night _  
_You wrecked my life _  
_So I'm gonna have to drive all night _  
_You wrecked my life _  
_So I'm gonna have to drive all night _

* * *

_**Disclaimer: **If you recognize it, it's most likely not mine. "Night Drive" is property of The All-American Rejects. Harry Potter is property of J. K. Rowling. _

**Author's Note: **Alright, your happy ending will be in the next chapter. If I get enough reviews, I'll post it in the morning. If you're really, really nice I'll even do an epilogue. Until then, adios. - Rei


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